12/12/21- John the Disturber

No, I did not make a mistake, at least not with this title; it was not a victim of autocorrect. The Baptist certainly was and is one whose intent is to disturb us, to jar us out of our “comfortability” this time of year and all year. John rather abruptly reminds us that our Gospel is one with a social conscience. For him and for Jesus it is not merely a question of God and me but rather God, me, and others. This is especially so when the others are in need. John is indeed very explicit about the way he answers the three questions put to him in today’s Gospel passage. In answer to the question of his audience, he says: "If anyone has two overcoats, he must share with the man who has none, and the one with an extra loaf of bread must do the same." John the Disturber commands them and us to give out of our surplus to those who do not have. To the tax collectors he says that they must not take more than the fair share from anyone and he commands the soldiers against practicing, extortion, falsely accusing anyone and grumbling about their wages. John basically gives us the flip side of the same coin that St. Paul gives to the Philippians when he said, “Let your generosity be manifest to all.” Both of these men, spoke on behalf of our social consciousness and they are determined to not let us become complacent in the service of justice or extending a hand to those in needand without judging why they that is the case. John reminds us that the message of Advent is designed to give a bit of jolt to one's spiritual nervous system. It is true that Jesus cannot be born again, but we can be. And that really is what Advent is all about. It is actually a very demanding season in which John the Disturber helps us to see that we give birth to our best selves once again.

12/5/21 Faith = Gratitude in Advance

Faith= Gratitude in Advance

I believe that order to truly experience and live the season of Advent we must intentionally strive to cultivate an attitude of gratitude. Ingratitude is absolutely incompatible with happiness yet it remains a trap into which we are very susceptible to fall. We fall into it even though we know that cultivating an attitude of gratitude is a much better way to live. There are all kinds of reasons why we fall into this trap but perhaps one of them is that we are try to do too much too fast perhaps especially during this time of year. When we do this the trials and tribulations that are always seem to become more and more difficult to navigate and this makes it very difficult to focus on the goal that lies ahead-if we can even remember what that might be. The goal of this Advent/Christmas season needs to be positioning ourselves and our families etc. in the best way we can to receive all the blessings that God has for us during this wonderful season. If we are practicing gratitude we come to realize that just as God has continually blessed us in the past and in the present, He will only continue to do so in the future.  We come to know that there are blessings behind every burden and this knowledge inspires and encourages us to go forward, to keep moving toward the blessings and to even thank God for them before we receive them. That is what faith is. Faith is gratitude in advance of the blessings that lay beyond the burdens. On this Second Sunday of Advent St. John the Baptist offers us the great hope that one day our path to the salvation which God offers will be made level and straight. We can help to straighten our own paths by thanking God in advance for the blessings to which they lead. In so doing, even the burdens begin to look a bit less burdensome. We might even find ourselves focusing even more on the Lord than the blessings that He has for us. We come to understand more clearly what we are looking for.  And what we are looking for we tend to see.

Happy Advent Everyone! [11/28/21]

Happy Advent Everyone!

When I was about 6 years old my Mom and Dad traveled to Connecticut for the wedding one of my mom’s cousins. They took my youngest three brothers with them but they brought me and my oldest two sisters to stay with my Aunt Helen while they were away. I really enjoyed my time with my Aunt Helen and fondly remember that weekend as a very special one.  Although I had visited her many times before and many times after that particular visit, all of my encounters with her after that one seemed always to point back to that one. I can remember even looking forward to some special time in the future when she and I could again share a time that was as special as that one. My memory of my relationship with my Aunt Helen causes me to reflect on our collective relationship with Jesus. We, as the human race, shared a special time with Him in which He actually walked the earth with us.  Ever since then all of our encounters with Him both point us back to that special time and at the same time cause us to look forward to that special time in the future in which we, collectively and individually, will be with Him once again.  That’s what Advent is all about. During this special Season we are called to reflect on the three “comings” of Christ: His coming to us as our Savior in the past, His coming to us in prayer, word and sacrament in the present, and ultimately, His Second Coming at the end of the world.  With this mindset, let’s “dive” into this joyful season knowing that Jesus, out of His great love for us, came to us in the past, comes to us each and every day, and will come to us again.

The King. The Way. The Truth. The Life. Period.

Today, as we come to the end of our Church’s year, we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King.  This is indeed the conclusion, the culmination of all that the Church teaches about Jesus and about what He teaches us about Himself.  He, Himself tells Pilate that He is king and He tells us in the Gospel that He is the way, the truth and the life.  But He doesn’t stop there. He goes on to say that, “No one gets to the Father except through me.”  He does not mince any words.  So, as we come to the end of one year and prepare for the beginning of another, how do we respond to the teachings that we are presented?  Actually, it doesn’t much matter.  He  is the way, the truth and the life and no one gets to the Father except through Him. It doesn’t matter what we do with Him, whether we crucify Him (and we do), or what we say or what we think.  As sure as a flying plane must at some point come down from the sky, as sure as our lives on this earth will one day come to an end, Jesus Christ is King of the Universe. His way is the way that will prevail. Not only that, our eternity will be determined by the manner in which we conform, to His way and His truth on this earth, on how we accept Christ as our King.  Jesus, although He is King, does not impose His will on us, His truth always sets us free. This means that in freedom we either choose to follow Him or not, but He is the only way to eternal salvation.  The sooner we truly accept that reality, the sooner we can take the steps to conform our lives to His way, His truth and His life. Of course the question will arise as to what happens with those who have other beliefs, or belong to other faiths, or who have never heard of Jesus-can they not be saved?   First of all, let’s be clear that it is God’s desire that all be saved. He does not want to lose anyone.  Therefore this means that anyone who is saved is saved in Christ. They don’t have to know it and they don’t have to believe it, but if they are to be saved, they will be saved in Christ. Another question that will arise is that if we maintain that Christ is the only way to the Father, the only way to salvation, aren’t we saying that we are better than everyone else?  Well, in all reality, that is not what we are saying at all.  What we are saying is that Jesus is superior to all of us. In conclusion, our challenge is that we, who need to take those steps that clearly establish that Christ is our King- that is what disciples do. They follow Him step by step as the Way to the Father. Hopefully the following acronym (STEPS) will help us to do just that. Here is what each letter stands for: Serve.  Tithe. Engage.  Practice.  Share.  Christ is not, our King, we are not His disciples, if we do not serve Him actively, if we don’t use our brains, our brawn and our talents for Him in a way that costs something.  To be a disciple, for Christ to be our King we must be on the road to tithing. We must have a plan to figure out how we are going to get there. The gift of our treasure must be planned, it must have priority, and it must move progressively toward the tithe. If Christ does not have our treasure, He will not have our heart. He cannot be our King, we cannot be His disciple if our hearts are not His.  If Christ is to be our King we must be engaged in His Faith. It must matter to us, it must be what defines us.  Others must be able to readily identify us as a disciple.  If Christ is to be our King, we must participate in and we must practice our faith.  Disciples go where they are supposed to go and do what they are supposed to do and they don’t just go through the motions. Sitting in a pew is not enough.  Disciples share their faith, they share the good news. That’s what the King commanded His disciples to do.  If we were privy to knowledge of a singular cure for a disease from which a loved one is suffering, would we not immediately share it?  Christ teaches that He is the only way to the Father-this is news that must be shared!  Christ is our King.  He is the way the truth and the life. No one gets to the Father except through Him.  That is the bottom line; that is the Good News-that is our hope. Our challenge is to take the STEPS in our lives that we need to take in freedom to truly make Him the King of our lives.

Time to Get Ready to Get Ready [11-14-21]

It is hard to believe, but we are just two weeks away from the end of the Church’s year and the beginning of Advent. At this time of year, although our Scriptural Readings are on the ending of life and the hope that the promised Messiah brings, the world around us celebrates with very little reflection, simply wanting to have a good time.  As the Christian tradition asks us to quietly ponder the mystery of our being visited by God, and to wait in wonder for the Christmas encounter, the world around us pops all the corks, lights up the trees, fills the streets with parades and the shops with fancy gift ideas and tells us to party long and loud. For the world around us, Christmas ends up being the day for exhausted partygoers to crash – and it’s not much different for Christians; we can’t easily escape the hype and the pressure, the revelry and consequently the exhaustion.  The world around us – and of which we’re a part - celebrates Christmas before it comes. So today’s readings calling for caution, reminding us of the ending of things; seems quite out of place. But it’s the world around us that misses the point. The Christian story begins, not with Christmas, but with a sense of expectation. Our story, like the story of life, is essentially one of waiting.  The Hebrew prophets pointed to a time when God would provide a way through the maze of problems, doubts and anxieties that confront humankind and we believe Jesus is that way. Year by year we celebrate that coming, but we also need to keep tuned in to why He came. Uncertainty and fear are still part of the human condition; we remain vulnerable to selfishness and the pain it can cause. We need to keep returning to the source of our peace and we need to keep trying to be worthy of the gift that is Jesus.  That is why the time before Christmas is important not for partying but for preparing. The party should come with Christmas itself. The ads announce there are less than 40 shopping days left till Christmas! While we can’t avoid that kind of pressure, we can take some of those days to shop in the spiritual market for moments of quiet to put our lives in order, to heal a relationship, to strengthen our awareness of just how much we are loved by God and how we might respond to that love.  We need to realize, however, that without adequate preparation we’ll never fully appreciate either the privilege or the gift that God gives to us every day of our lives.  If celebrations continue to cancel preparation, Christmas will be over before it arrives and we’ll be no wiser as to what it really means.

The Rich Widows [11-07-21]

Yes, that is what I am calling them, the “rich” widows, even though we know them as poor.  The reason that I am calling them “rich” is because I believe that they show us how to be rich.  These two widows the one depicted in our Gospel passage-and the widow of Zarephath in the First Reading, show us how to be rich, but we will get to that a little bit later.  First of all, let’s look at what St. Mark tells us about Jesus, at the beginning of this passage. He says that Jesus sat opposite the treasury and watched how the crowd put money into it.  Could you imagine that happening here?  I suppose Jesus did not get the memo saying that’s just simply not something He was supposed to do.  And then He said that this poor/rich widow gave more than everyone else. Why? Because she gave a much higher percentage of her wealth than the others did-and that is what makes her rich and the others not so much.  Her perspective and relationship to money and wealth is different than the others who put money into the treasury-as well as to the perspective that many of us still have today.  We think of money as something that we want to get, to acquire, and to pursue.  We hope to get money so that we can get rich.  These widows don’t see it that way at all. They see everything that they have as gifts that have been entrusted to them by God, which they are to use for His Kingdom.  The widow of Zarephath gave her last bit of bread to the man of God. The widow in the Gospel gave her last bit of money to the Lord. And therefore they became rich. Neither their bread nor their money ever ran out and we can be sure they are reaping eternal benefits to this day. Instead of serving money they served God. So what about us? This is one of those relationships we need to get right. Jesus talks about it all the time and He even watches how we work it out. Do we want ultimately to serve God or to serve money-we cannot serve both. Do we want to get rich, or do we want to be rich?  “Getting rich” may or not ever happen for us, but it will never make us happy or solve this dilemma.  “Being rich” is something that can happen right now and the rewards are eternal.

Integral, Whole and Sincere [10/31/21]

That’s how Jesus wants us to be: integral, whole and sincere. He does not want us to be at war with Him, His will, with anyone else or with ourselves.  He commands us to love Him with our whole heart, our whole mind and our whole soul. He does this not for any arbitrary reason or because He is authoritarian but because He loves. Because of His great love for us, He wants nothing more for us than for us to be at peace.  We cannot be at peace if we continually allow ourselves to be pulled in all kinds of different directions.  We cannot be at peace if we have something against our neighbor or if our neighbor has something against us. God knows that if we are divided against Him or others or ourselves we ultimately will not be able to stand.  The purpose of His great command is to give us an anchor in our lives that we desperately need. Without it we would flounder at best. With it, we have freedom, the freedom to choose to heed His command or to go another route. And so many times in life we will choose to go in another direction only to learn and relearn the lesson that only His way, keeps us in one piece and at peace. We also, because of His command, ultimately learn that the most surefire way to peace is surrender to His will. His will is our peace.  We cannot obey the first commandment without by definition obeying the second commandment and if we do not obey the second we cannot obey the first.  Another way of saying what I’m trying to say is this: Peace comes from loving God with every aspect of our humanity, and then serving this presence, His Presence in others. And that’s what it means to be integral, whole and sincere.

Are We the Crowd? [10-24-21]

This weekend’s Gospel is about Bartimaeus, the blind man from Jericho. I have always found this short story heart wrenching, because there are so many emotions experienced: the excitement of the crowd as they follow Jesus out of town; the absolute misery, despair and humiliation that Bartimaeus wakes up with and goes to sleep with each day; the moment of hope that Bartimaeus experiences when by chance Jesus of Nazareth, a healer passes near him; the annoyance of the crowd and their efforts to render a helpless person even more helpless; the panic and heart break that Bartimaeus must have felt. When the crowd works to reinforce his sense of worthlessness; the awful loneliness that Bartimaeus must have felt at that moment knowing that outside of Jesus, he was truly all alone. It is this last “emotion” that strikes me the most. How terrible, how awful it is to feel alone; that there is no one in your life who values you enough to stand by your side; appreciates your troubles or feels that you are worth their heart, their effort. In a story such as this, it is natural for us to focus on Bartimaeus or on Jesus; however, I would encourage you to focus on “the sizable crowd.” For all that they have been exposed to; namely, the power of Our Lord’s words; the example of His compassion; His refusal to prejudge a person; His sense that everyone has a right to His time; His willingness to presume good in every person; they proved to be the persons who were truly blind. There is a lesson in this for us, and those who don’t see it, should be a bit frightened. We can so easily be like the crowd from Jericho. I am certain, that basically they were decent people, persons inclined to be good, but they hadn’t learned a thing from Jesus. Like the people of Jericho, we too have been exposed to the teachings of Christ. We too have received His love. Yet, what have been the experiences of the Bartimaeuses in our lives? When, in their imperfect way, they cried out, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me,” what did they experience from you: The “Crowd” or Jesus? When your spouse, a parent, one of your children, a classmate or neighbor in their troubles say “Master, I want to see.”, and you looked around knowing that there was no one else to hear that plea, what do they experience from you? Silence; an excuse that “I didn’t know”; or an alibi that “I have troubles of my own”? They have many faces and they are just not “Poor Souls.” These pleas come from lonely senior citizens, family members or friends with addictions, widows/widowers, parents with a troubled child, those who suffer from depression, and those who need forgiveness but are too proud to admit it. Ordinarily, their blindness isn’t cured as quickly as Our Lord cured Bartimaeus; their cure requires patience, a kind of spiritual stamina that is tough to practice. Yet it can be done, if we rely on the Lord. So, my brothers and sisters, in your daily prayers, ask the Lord to help you always remember that you and I are our brother’s keeper and that we will never have reason to regret making ourselves available to the Bartimaeuses that come into our lives.

Jesus and Marriage [10-03-21]

I do not mean to shock any one by writing this but speaking about marriage and divorce is not on any short list-or long list for that matter-of my favorite things to do. And I believe my sentiment is rather typical of other priests as well. But Jesus taught about marriage and divorce and what He teaches is the truth and His truth sets us free. So here we go.  First of all we can be sure that if Jesus is teaching us about anything, it is aimed at our own good and our freedom.  In the case of divorce, Jesus is looking out for the well being of the women and mothers of His day.  Did you notice that at the end of this Gospel St. Mark tells us that “people were bringing children to Him that He might touch them?” Who do you think those people were? Bet your bottom dollar they were the children’s mothers.  Jesus, in his teaching against divorce was standing up for them. In His time a husband could cast aside His wife on a whim-for virtually no reason at all. Jesus was saying that this practice was wrong because the “two are to become one flesh.”  The love that exists between a husband and wife is meant to mirror the love that exists between Christ and His Church. Marriage is not a relationship that is meant to be easily cast aside. You might say “Get real, Father, look around you. It’s just not working out that way.”  It is true that some studies document that nearly half of all marriages will end up in divorce-but that doesn’t mean that it is supposed to be that way or that we or our children are better off because of it. Actually that is why we so much need to hear Christ’s teaching on this subject.  Also we should know that if a couple goes to Church together every Sunday, there is less than a 2% chance that they will be divorced and that if they study scripture and pray together that chance drops to less than one in 500.  God’s teaching works because His teaching is true. I will close with some words of advice from an unknown author for husbands and wives as they strive to live out the vows of their marriage to the fullest degree: "I will do more than belong, I will participate. I will do more than care, I will help. I will do more than believe, I will practice. I will do more than be fair, I will be kind. I will do more than be friendly, I will be a friend. I will do more than forgive, I will love."

Greatness Comes Only at Great Cost [9/19/21]

We human beings can be described in many ways, and one of them is “predictable.” When Jesus, as He was walking with them through Galilee said to them, "The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill Him, and three days after His death the Son of Man will rise," I would say that the disciples reacted in a rather predictable way. St. Mark tells us that after hearing these words, since “they did not understand the saying, they were afraid to question Him.”  Have we not found ourselves in that position from time to time?  Someone says something that is just too hard for us to handle so we just back away and end the conversation.  And what does Mark say that they do for the rest of the way? Well, it seems like they kind of retreated away from Jesus and settled into their own little conversations/discussions/hopefully friendly debates.  That’s predictable, too, don’t you think? Isn’t that the kind of thing that we tend to do?  Eventually, they found themselves debating about, of all things, which of them would be greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.  How predictable. How human. Jesus just spoke to them about how He was going to suffer and die, and they retreat into an argument about who is the greatest.  The only redeeming part of the whole episode is that they were embarrassed when Jesus asked them what they were talking about. But here is where the teaching moment finally happened. Jesus at this moment was able to teach us and to teach them about greatness. And His lesson to them and to us is not that they should not aspire to greatness- He wants us all to be the greatest that we can be. But we must know what true greatness is. True greatness is not about putting ourselves first but putting ourselves last. True greatness is about true sacrifice. Surely the people you consider the greatest in your lives are the ones who sacrificed the most-for you. True greatness is about what you do for others, not what others do for you.  True greatness is about the willingness to bear the pain and suffering and the cost of the cross that Jesus invites and inspires us to carry. So now that we know what greatness really is we can truly aspire to be the greatest disciples ever?

Who Do You Say That I am? [9/12/21]

The more I think about it, what an amazing question. I mean, really, why on earth or in heaven for that matter, why would Jesus, the Lord, the Messiah ask the disciples who they say that He is?  Does He not know who He is?  Why does it matter who they say He is?  Does their answer to the question change who He is? Does their answer change anything at all? And, by the way, who else ever asks us who we say they are? Don’t people pretty much always make their best effort to tell us who they are and not the other way around?   Politicians do exactly the opposite of what Jesus is doing today in this passage. They spend enormous amounts of money on their individual campaigns. But I do not suppose that they ask us who we say they are?  I don’t think so.  But do they not instead spend huge sums money to try to tell us who they say they are (and who their opponent is) so they might win the election?  With their campaigns they do exactly the opposite of what Jesus is doing in today’s Gospel.  Jesus asks us who we say He is because He knows that the way we answer that question will determine the kind of person we will become and ultimately go along way in determining whether or not salvation will be ours. Political candidates spend all kinds of money to try to tell us who they are so that they might achieve some kind of office.  I’d say that there is a pretty much a dichotomy here, wouldn’t you?  So, is there a lesson here-I think there is. As we know, we should never vote for a candidate based on who they say they are, but on who we, after a lot of research, prayer and reflection say they are. On the other hand who we say Jesus is will go a long way to determine how we make every day decisions and how we live our lives. Jesus asks us the question who do you say that I am not because He doesn’t understand who He is but to help us know Him better and so we might be able to more closely follow Him.

Ephphatha! [09/05/21]

We are loved.  If there was any message that Jesus wanted His disciples, and us, to hear and understand, it is that we are loved.  We are loved by God.  We are loved by Jesus, the Eternal Image of the Father.  Jesus healed the deaf man not just as a sign of the coming of the Messiah, as it certainly is, but as a sign of the love that God has for each of us.  He heals us.  The healing may be physical or psychological, but it certainly is spiritual.  He sees beneath what the world has proclaimed as success, as prosperity.  For true prosperity is found in the account of the soul, not in the bank account.  But none of His healings are an ending-they are a beginning.  Jesus heals us not only as a sign of the Kingdom to come, not only as a demonstration of His love for us, but also because of His great love for everyone.  We are called to spread His love to others.  Ultimately that is what justice is-the spreading of God’s love from ourselves to the rest of the world.  If we do not spread God’s love we are practicing injustice.  So Saint James tells the early Christians and us that we need to treat each other for who each of us is, not for what we have.  We need to extend to others the dignity that is their God-given right.  It is how we extend the healing love of the Lord.  God sees the goodness of every person.  He sees His image and likeness in every person.  He also sees how that image can be clouded, hidden behind a door of pain.  And Jesus came and said, ‘Ephphatha, be opened!”  He heals because He loves.  He heals because He wants us to be the vehicles of His healing for others. As my mother would say His healing love for us is “not for nothin,” we need to do something useful with it.  If His love ends with us, then our story will have a very sad ending. 

True Religion [8/29/21]

People of God, we are called to focus our energies on others, not on ourselves.  This was the problem with the scribes and Pharisees in today’s gospel.  They focused their energies on themselves as an expression of religion while they ignored the needs of those around them.  As a result they became spiritually arrogant, hypocrites.  The word hypocrite takes its origin from two Greek works, huper meaning beyond, and crisis meaning criticism.  The scribes and Pharisees thought that they were so good that they were beyond criticism.  Their focus was on themselves and their exact literal following of the Jewish laws.  They did not have love in their hearts for others.  They disdained the everyday people as worthless rabble.  Their method of following God could not bear fruit because they were more concerned with themselves than with finding God in others.  It is pretty easy for us to fall into that same hole.  Sometimes we forget that conversion is a process, not a static event. The beauty of our Catholic faith is that it is profoundly realistic.  It recognizes that we are human beings tempted to make bad as well as good choices and in continual need of having our course to the Lord refined and even restored.  We believe that the Lord established the sacrament of penance, of forgiveness, because of our tendency to fall into sin. The problem with the Pharisees is that they gradually established and practiced their own religion-a religion that came from themselves and not from God; a religion that allowed them to give themselves positions of righteousness and to disdain anyone who did not meet their standards of practice. They forgot what true religion is. And what is true religion? True religion is this: looking after widows and orphans in their distress and keeping ourselves free from the temptations of the world.  People of God, let’s be sure that we faithfully practice our religion, but let’s first be sure that our religion is true.

Because Jesus Said...[8/22/21]

Because Jesus Said...

It was one of those moments that I will never forget, although I admit I do not remember many of the particulars.  It was January of 1990, and myself and my third theology classmates were taking our comprehensive examinations.  They were something we had to get through on the way to our greatly hoped for diaconate ordinations the following May.  There was a written component and an oral component.  For the oral exam we were allowed to choose an area of concentration.  Not surprisingly most of the fellows chose their particular areas based on their interests and where they felt most comfortable and knowledgeable, or which professors who would be questioning for the particular fields.  On that basis a number of men refused to concentrate on the area of moral theology because the department chair, who would be the lead questioner, was very intimidating to us.  But me?  Well, I chose to go against the grain; I was young and brash and cocky.  I told everyone that this professor did not scare me and that I was going the way of moral theology and that was that.  However, when the moment finally came when it was time for the oral exams I found myself re-evaluating my thought process.  I had been sitting in the waiting area for two hours, my scheduled exam time had passed by an hour and a half ago, and three very distraught classmates had come out of the exam room, basically saying that their experiences had been “brutal”.  Of course, at this point I was wondering why I ever put myself in this situation but there was nothing I could do.  Finally the door opened, I went in and sat down, and answered the first question.  I guess I did okay because there was no follow up.  Then came the second question, which I cannot remember at all, but I do remember that I swallowed hard and tried to form an adequate answer.  I began by saying, “Because Jesus said…,” but I was immediately stopped by the intimidating professor who said, “Excellent! You are absolutely correct So much of Catholic moral teaching comes down to the fact that it comes from the words of Jesus Himself.  We do not need any more of an explanation than that.  Well done have a wonderful afternoon.”  I couldn’t believe what had just happened but I was in and out in less than 3 minutes!  I guess they needed to make up for lost time.  So I was spared the “brutal” experience of a number of my peers for whatever reason—and I learned a valuable lesson, the same lesson that the disciples were trying to learn in the Gospel today.  They were learning that Jesus Himself was the Bread of Life and if they ate of this bread they would never die.  And the reason they were supposed to believe this was because, “Jesus said…”  They did not need any further explanation and neither do we.

Mary Traveled to the Hill Country in Haste [8/15/21]

It always strike me that we are told by St. Luke on this Feast of the Assumption that when Mary set out to visit her cousin Elizabeth, that she traveled “in haste.”  It would just never occur to me that the Blessed Mother would ever do anything in a manner that could be considered “hasty” in any way.  Aren’t we taught that “Haste makes waste,” and that we should “Look before we leap,” etc. etc.?  Yet, our Blessed Mother, we are told, set out proceeding “in haste.”  There must be a lesson here for us. Could it be that sometimes it is right for us to in fact, “proceed in haste” when we know exactly what the Lord wants us to do?  Isn’t it true that while it may indeed often be difficult to clearly discern God’s will it is also true that at any given moment there are any number of things that we know that God wants us to do but for some reason or other we have not yet done them?  Are there not people that we are called to forgive right now? Are there not people from whom we should be seeking forgiveness right now?  Are there not any number of other people in our lives to whom we should be reaching out in some kind of loving way right now?  And yet we do not. We come up with some reason, some excuse as to why we cannot do this or that right now. We rationalize that we are too busy, that it is not yet the right time, or that someone else needs to take a certain step before we do anything.  But when it comes right down to it, we know that it is all nonsense, that we are so adept at coming up with one excuse after another in order to rationalize not doing the will of God in the present moment. We are called to forgive. Right now! We are called to seek forgiveness. Right now! We are called to reach out to others in charity and love. Right now!  There is never any excuse for us to put off doing these types of things.  Mary set out in haste to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Let us always set out in haste to do the will of God.

Will We Ever Stop Complaining? [8/04/21]

Jesus words to the Pharisees in today’s Gospel made me think of the following little reflection that I had come across some time ago. To the best of my knowledge the author is unknown.  “I woke up early today, excited over all I get to do before the clock strikes midnight. I have responsibilities to fulfill today. My job is to choose what kind of day I am going to have. Today I can complain because the weather is rainy or I can be thankful that the grass is getting watered for free. Today I can feel sad that I don’t have more money or I can be glad that my finances encourage me to plan my purchases wisely and guide me away from waste.  Today I can grumble about my health or I can rejoice that I am alive.  Today I can lament over all that my parents didn’t give me when I was growing up or I can feel grateful that they allowed me to be born.  Today I can cry because roses have thorns or I can celebrate that thorns have roses.  Today I can mourn my lack of friends or I can excitedly embark upon a quest to discover new relationships.  Today I can whine because I have to go to work or I can shout for joy because I have a job to do.  I can complain because I have to go to school or eagerly open my mind and fill it with rich new pieces of knowledge. Today I can murmur dejectedly because I have to do housework or I can feel honored because the Lord has provided shelter for my mind, body and soul.  Today stretches ahead of me, waiting to be shaped.  And here I am, the sculptor who gets to do the shaping.  What today will be like is up to me. I get to choose what kind of day I will have!”  As I see it the bottom line is this: we will always have the opportunity to complain but we really never have anything to complain about.  Why?  Because every day of our lives we can receive the bread that Jesus gives us, the bread that gives us eternal life.  As long as we continue to choose to complain, it has to mean that we just don’t get it.

Bread for the Soul...Want Some? [08/01/21]

Beginning last week, we have been taking a five week break from the Gospel of Mark and spending time in the Gospel of John on the teachings of Jesus which are called the Bread of Life Discourse. Last week we read about the feeding of the 5000 and reflected on what it means for us today. Today’s Gospel is a continuation of the loaves and fishes story we began last week. Jesus fed the crowd and amazed them by His miracles. After that miracle and a day of teaching, Jesus and the apostles went away across the lake to get a little rest and privacy, but the people who had witnessed the miracle went searching for Him and found Him on the other side of the lake. Instead of being angry with them, Jesus continues to teach them. He tells them first that it wasn’t the signs and miracles that attracted them, as much as the fact they were being fed.  He says that they should be less interested in filling their bellies with food that quickly disappears, and instead, look for spiritual food which will never leave them. When they ask what they must do to get this spiritual food, Jesus replies that they must believe in the person God has sent; that they must believe in Him and reveals to them that He is the Bread of Life.   God has sent Him to be for us all the spiritual food that we will ever need.  They then ask him for signs so they that they can believe in Him-even though He had just fed the 5,000! They then mention the manna that God gave the to the Israelites through Moses but Jesus explains that through Him God is not only giving them bread for their bodies but bread for their souls as well.  And this is where I think it might be good for us to pause. We might say that we, perhaps not unlike those people who chased Jesus across the lake because Jesus miraculously filled their stomachs, have followed Him to Church today.  But do we know why? Is it for something that will last or something that will fade away? Actually, Jesus will give us both, but He longs for us to long for that which is eternal. He wants us to nourish us eternally with His Bread of Life.

Are you Smarter than a Little Jewish Boy? [7-25-21]

The hero of today's Gospel is a little Jewish boy.  He proved himself not only to be smart enough to pack a lunch but also to be among the rarest of individuals. He was willing, after packing his lunch, to give it away.  However, in doing so he once again proved his intelligence because he gave it to Jesus. You might say that he made a very shrewd investment. He went home with 12 baskets of leftovers after the huge crowd had had their fill.  Because he gave the little he had, we are talking about this miracle to this day.

Let us not forget of course that it was Jesus who mentions that this exhausted mob must be hungry showing once again that He is interested not only in life after death but also life before death.  He looks towards His disciples to be problem solvers and that’s how this little fellow was found. Jesus did not embarrass the little boy and his meager offering. He accepted his gifts with ceremony and gratitude. Can you imagine the look on the boy’s face as Jesus starts to share his food with the crowd, and especially as he saw that his lunch never ran out? Maybe Jesus held him up in His arms for the crowd to see. Somehow or other, I think there are some lessons to be learned here. The next time you are asked for something you feel you cannot give, remember this Jewish boy and think again. Even if your gift is small, know that Christ will receive you and your gift with open arms and do amazing things with it. He will literally use it to feed the world.  But if we hoard the little that we have, we just might prevent Christ from performing one more amazing miracle.  If we find ourselves worrying about whether we have enough money perhaps we should remember this child, and ask ourselves if maybe our worry is a sign that we need to give more away and see what God might do with it. The psalmist says “a child will lead us,” but I leave you with this question, “Are you smarter than a little Jewish boy? 

Christian Leadership [7-18-21]

It seems to me that the readings for this weekend reflect on leadership and the fact that we human beings are very much in need of it. We may not like to admit it, but if we are without leadership we will tend to pretty much flounder around like sheep without a shepherd. We have a great need to come together and to unite around someone who can articulate a unified vision or purpose.  The trouble is that not all visions, even though they may be passionately and clearly articulated are good for us.  History is filled with examples of people flocking to leaders who led them to paths that were not good. So, the question then becomes what are the qualities that we should look for in a leader.  Of course, my answer is going to be that first and foremost we should look to Jesus and the type of leadership that He employed. We don’t have to look too closely before we easily conclude that Jesus is among the greatest leaders of all times, but was very different from Adolf Hitler, who is indeed also an example of a powerful leader.  Of course, Jesus is different than Hitler in many ways-perhaps primarily in his example of Christian Leadership.  Christian leadership is different than any other kind of leadership. It is not based on power; it is based on invitation.  It does not feed off propaganda; it thrives on truth.  It does not oppress or place burdens on people; it sets them free and calls them to rest.  Christian leadership is based on truth, love, freedom, caring and service.  The Christian leader puts people first and is willing to sacrifice himself for them. Other leaders do exactly the opposite.  And the bottom line, and for me this is what it’s all about, is that Christian leadership is the most effective kind of leadership.  Don’t you think so? Well then let me ask you two questions. Where is Adolf Hitler?  Where is Jesus?  The trouble is that Christian leadership is rarely ever practiced. And it is something to which we are all called by virtue of our Baptism and Confirmation. Yes. We are all called to be leaders. Christian leaders. So how about if we try it sometime?  Let’s live a life that is based on truth, freedom, service, love and caring, and see what happens.

Evangelism Yesterday and Today [7-11-21]

If you ask me, evangelism today should be just like the evangelism that we hear about in today’s Gospel. First, as followers of Christ, we need to understand that we are sent out. We can't simply sit comfortably in our pews; we are called to go work in the field.
Second, we need to be humble. The disciples took nothing with them: no bread, no bags and no money. We need to leave our baggage behind and simply invite people to the banquet.  Third, we need to understand that evangelism is all about invitation, and not at all about coercion. Jesus says, "If people don't accept you, shake the dust off your feet and leave." He didn't say to stand and argue with them. He didn't say to condemn them to hell.  He told them to spread the Gospel, sow the seed, and let God do the rest.  Finally, we are to evangelize with compassion. We are not to threaten people with an eternity in hell, or look for reasons why they are bad people and back it up with selected biblical verses.  It is wrong to bash people over the heads with the scriptures and hope for conversion through osmosis. Rather, we are to kindly meet people where they are. We are to use only words that heal and never words that hurt.  Still, even if we follow all these pointers, our efforts will fall short if we don’t fully understand who we are and what we are about when we set out to evangelize. Why do we come to church? Why do we call ourselves Catholic? Why do we believe that our faith is better than any other? Yes, we need to be evangelists; but we need to understand why we are here in the first place. That doesn't mean we have all the answers, but it does mean that we have better answers than, "Because I've always gone to church, etc." We need to know what draws us, what excites us, what comforts us. And when we know that, and when we truly live the faith in which we profess belief, then and only then, will we be ready to invite others to join us.